We love any excuse to visit Central California’s wine country so when Anita and Gabriel suggested we shoot their engagement session at a friend’s winery there, we were all for it.

The day of the shoot was warm with bright golden light spilling everywhere. The folks at Rideau winery were really gracious and allowed us photograph all over the property. The beautiful location along with an adorable, so in love couple, made for a really fun, creative day. The icing on the cake was the vintage car that Gabriel rented for the shoot.

Larry and I are so looking forward to getting to know Anita and Gabriel more in the months to come and of course to photographing their wedding in May!

The pressure was on. Jamie and Randy chose to forgo a professional photographer at their wedding so they could invest in something more unusual. Randy had his heart set on having a tintype wedding portrait made and after poking around on the Internet, he found us. (Yes, the irony of looking for tintype photography on the Internet was not lost on me).

Luckily we had a beautiful warm day in which to make our plates. Jamie and Randy looked adorable in their wedding clothes and embraced the methodical process of wet plate photography whole-heartedly.

We made several plates, but this one is my favorite. The pose came from the newlyweds’ themselves. They wanted to juxtapose, Jamie’s cuddliness with Randy’s more stoic side.

I think this image captures their relationship beautifully

Who would ever think that an old Smog Shoppe in Culver City could be the perfect venue for a romantic, whimsical wedding? Luckily, Rebecca Stone of Duet Weddings did, and her clients Peggy and Chris readily agreed.

The stage was set with an eclectic mix of décor. Everything from the mismatched chairs to the assortment of vintage vases sitting atop moss runners on the long family style dining tables served to charm. Instead of a traditional cake, a “buffet” of cookies was on hand for guests to enjoy. Yeah, okay the photographers may have enjoyed them as well.

I especially loved the escort card display and menu board. They stood over 6 feet tall and had a chalk board like appearance.

With Peggy being in the Reality TV. biz, a video confessional was set up for guests to tape their advice and good wishes to the newlyweds.

While all of this was really fun to photograph, what really made the day lovely and special was Peggy and Chris’ graciousness and warmth. They are the kind of people that upon meeting, you feel like you’ve been friends forever. It’s been truly a pleasure getting to know them